The Wiggles “We’re All Fruit Salad” Thirtieth Anniversary National Tour.
Canberra Theatre. Canberra Theatre
Centre. April 17-18 2021
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
“Why review The Wiggles? I was
asked. "They don’t need a review." There is a misguided belief that a reviewer is
there only to ensure audiences for a production, by commenting on the show.
That is partly true, and it is also true that the target audience for a Wiggles
show needs no encouragement. As one person told me their current 30 Year
Anniversary Tour, We’re All Fruit Salad
is the hottest ticket in town for parents of 3 – 5 year olds. As I walked up
the aisle after their bright and colourful show in the Canberra Theatre, I
noticed a mother nursing her very young child. You can never start too young
introducing your child to the magic of theatre and The Wiggles celebratory show
is the perfect introduction.
But a reviewer’s task is also to
be a theatre archivist and inform a community of offerings and trends that
constitute the diverse world of the theatre. After thirty years, entertaining
children and introducing them to a love of the theatre that may last throughout
their lives, The Wiggles have become an early childhood phenomenon that has
never lost sight of its origins, even though, apart from founding member Anthony Field , the Green
Wiggle, the cast has changed and fascinating, fun characters have joined the original
team. At one stage, Simon Pryce, the Red Wiggle invites parent to hold up their
children who have come dressed as their favourite Wiggle. When it comes to Emma
Watkins, the Yellow Wiggle, the response is huge. The only female Wiggle
emerges as a clear favourite, and yet her introduction to the team has been
relatively recent.
An idea that was created by musicians
Field and fellow Cockroaches musician Jeff Fatt, Murray Cook and Field’s
university friend Greg Page and composer Phillip Wilcher three decades ago has
become a world-wide phenomenon, and it is easy to see why when one gazes at the
faces of the young audience who sit entranced by the colour and movement or
join in singing Twinkle Twinkle Little
Star or Humpty Dumpty or Hot Potato or do the movement to simple dance
choregography. And therein lies the secret to The Wiggles’ success. That and
their versatility. Anthony is as adept on bagpipes as he is on guitar and Lachy
Gillespie, the Purple Wiggle accompanies expertly on keyboard. And it is not only the young, fascinated child
who happily waves his or her arms through the air. The woman in front of me was
as engrossed in the show as her young child. The magic of live theatre casts
its spell and every member of the audience young and old gives themselves over
to the mesmerising charm of The Wiggles. This is pure and honest entertainment
that aims to teach the very young the pleasure of participating in song and
dance and movement, guided by consummate performers of their distinctive art.
There is no pretension, no hyped up spectacle, no gratuitous participation, but
only a genuine desire to fire the imagination and inspire the joy in learning.
To do this, the Wiggles remove
the fourth wall through participation and engagement with the audience in the
aisles of the theatre. Performers in bear suits bound through the audience, Captain
Feathersword romps up and down the aisle. A large inflatable elephant brushes
past, followed by a troupe of dancing elephants. On stage larger than life
characters delight the children with their antics. There is Henry the Octopus,
Dorothy the Dinosaur, Wag the Dog and Shirley
Shawn the Unicorn. The Wiggles lead their audience into a fantastical
wonderland of the imagination where reality and make believe combine into a
fusion of wonderment. It all comes
together in a We’re All Fruit Salad finale
when characters enter in the familiar red Wiggles car in front of the large
quilted yellow backdrop with painted faces of The Wiggles and the other
characters. For an hour their wizardry holds the young audience willingly
captive and I sit in awe of how a show, so simple, so honest, so full of the
love of entertaining and teaching young children can weave such a spell. It is
a lesson that adult theatre could do well to observe, and that’s why The
Wiggles We’re All Fruit Salad Thirtieth
Anniversary Tour is worth reviewing!
